The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine has appointed a chief of cardiothoracic surgery who is expected to bring fresh expertise in heart transplants, heart valve repair and lung cancer surgery.

        The appointment also could be a first step toward establishing a lung transplantation program in Cincinnati, according to Dr. Jeffrey Matthews, chief of the UC Department of Surgery.

        Walter Merrill, formerly a researcher at Vanderbilt University and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the Nashville Veterans Affairs Hospital, is expected to take his post in Cincinnati on July 1.

        “Dr. Merrill's appointment ... is quite a coup for Cincinnati,” Dr. Matthews said. “He is a deeply skilled specialist and will bring broad-based expertise in heart transplant, heart failure, valve repair and other complex procedures.”

        Dr. Merrill will oversee a reorganized surgical department that includes heart transplantation along with other types of heart and lung surgery. University Hospital has seen three heart transplants since the unit reopened in February after a year-long hiatus.

        Dr. Merrill's research interests include lung transplantation. His appointment could make it easier for UC to attract other physicians who perform lung transplants, Dr. Matthews said.

        Recruiting a new chief of cardiothoracic surgery and launching a lung transplant program were among the top goals Dr. Matthews expressed when he took his post as chief of surgery in July.

        While heart, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants have been done here for years, no Cincinnati hospital has been certified to perform lung transplants. Those patients most commonly have been sent to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

        Leading reasons for getting a lung transplant include pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis, some forms of emphysema, obstructive lung disease and some birth defects. Of 260 U.S. medical centers that have organ transplant programs, 141 programs can do heart transplants, 76 can do lung transplants and 82 can do combined heart-lung transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

        Dr. Matthews also has predicted that the reorganized cardiothoracic program would become more involved in new technology, from minimally invasive heart surgery to robotics to testing artificial hearts.

        Dr. Merrill's is the latest of several high-level medical appointments at UC.

        Last month, Dr. William Martin II was named dean at the UC College of Medicine. Earlier this year, Dr. Jeffrey Pearl, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, was named surgical director of the heart transplant program. And last July, Dr. Matthews started as chief of surgery.

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